Toyota aren’t supposed to reveal the new 2016 Prius until next week, but the company might have suffered from a leak that stole their thunder. A set of pictures have been circulating the Internet lately, which apparently show the new model in various levels of detail, and fans of the company have already been comparing those photos to the previously leaked concept pictures which were claimed to have come directly from Toyota.

While back then it was pretty difficult to confirm whether or not that concept art was genuine, the pictures still managed to generate a lot of hype all over the Internet and many people were convinced that they were the real thing. There were various design elements in the new Prius that grabbed the attention of people pretty quickly, and people in general were impressed with the way the car looked.

Now that we’ve seen the new pictures that are actual photos showing the model in what looks to be a garage of sorts, they do seem quite similar to the concept model we saw in the drawings before, leading many fans to believe that the concept leak was in fact genuine and showed the actual car.

That seems to have brought up more questions than it actually answered though – how did those original concept pictures make it to the Internet in the first place? The source that leaked the concepts must have some pretty reliable connections within Toyota now that it’s been revealed that the leak was genuine, and this might lend some credibility to any future leaks of the same kind that get released to the Web.

It’s worth noting that there are some minor differences between the actual photos and the leaked concept pictures, but this is to be expected – after all, that’s the whole point of concept art, and cars rarely look exactly like they do in their concept shots. The general idea is preserved, but there are various minor details that are noticeably different from what we saw before. The headlights look a bit more unique, and the car also sports slightly bigger wheels.

Some critics have also been commenting on the seemingly different profile of the car, but it’s worth noting that this could be just an illusion based on the different camera angle. We don’t know if the new model will have the exact same profile as depicted in the leaked concept pictures, but we’re going to find out for sure in about a week once Toyota finally unveils what they’ve been working on and decide to show the car to the public for the first time.

An event which is highly anticipated by many fans of the company, too. There was some worrying that interest in the new Prius might die down now that the car has been leaked and we’ve seen several new pictures, as this could have satisfied the cravings of some of the company’s fans. Quite on the contrary, seeing how the model looks has driven up the hopes of most people, and their interest in the new car as well.

What kind of performance can we expect from the 2016 Prius? There have been varying reports on that in the press, and we’ve heard rumors claiming that it will offer a 94 mpg efficiency, which seems quite good if it’s true. However, some have been questioning the legitimacy of these claims, stating that it sounds far too good to be real.